DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Ulaanbaatar Xac secured third place in the Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia) 2025 after foiling Shabab Al Ahli, 84-79, at the Coca-Cola Arena on Friday night.
The Broncos unloaded a crucial 8-0 run to flip a narrow deficit to a 77-72 lead with five minutes left to play and that's all they needed to be in control for a triumphant conclusion to what had been a historic run.
From failing to advance in last year's BCL Asia Qualifiers, Coach Ariunbold Erdene & Co. ended their breakout season with a bronze medal in easily one of the best turnarounds by a ball club this tournament has seen.
Also the champions of BCL Asia-East 2025 and the 2024-25 The League, Ulaanbaatar Xac have now achieved the highest finish by a Mongolian team in the continent's most prestigious club competition.
"We're so excited. This is a very big success for Mongolian basketball," said Erdene. "All of the Mongolian players, the coaches, the staff, the federation, they've been dreaming of this kind of success for years."
Azbayar Altangerel starred in the victory with 28 points as he went a perfect 11-for-11 from the floor, none more important than his layup from the post to widen the lead to 84-77 with 1:11 left, thus sealing the victory.
The promising 20-year-old winger also collected 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks as he provided much-needed support for the Broncos, most especially for reinforcements Ian Miller and Jordan Tolbert.
"I'm really proud of our local players," said Erdene as he also received 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists from Barsbold Baatar Erdene in the victory. "Every game, every practice, they show up and do their best."
Miller, held to a tournament-low 9 points in their loss to Utsunomiya Brex in the Semi-Finals, came back and finished with 19 points alongside 5 rebounds and 9 assists in over 37 minutes of playing time.
Tolbert, on the other hand, made 13 points and 11 rebounds as his solid start enabled the Broncos to keep in step with the hosts, who played without Deshawndre Washington due to a leg injury.
Josh Hawley and Jermaine Love then shared the offensive load in the prolific scorer's absence, finishing with 22 and 21 points, respectively, with Hawley hauling down 20 rebounds as well in a losing effort.
Qais Alshabebi was the only other double-digit scorer for the reigning FIBA WASL-Gulf League titlists with 10 in the loss, which in their standards is a letdown after a runner-up finish in last year's BCL Asia.
Alshabebi gave them the 72-69 lead with 7:59 to go in the final frame, but that proved to be the last time they'd be ahead as Miller, Altangerel, and Baatar Erdene came through with the aforementioned run.
The stocky bruiser tried to will Shabab Al Ahli back into the game but he could only do so much as Tolbert came in with a tough one-handed fallaway before Miller and the others put the game out of reach.
FIBA